The characteristics of 74 patients who attempted suicide in Penang are described. Differences in the incidence and reasons for and methods of attempting were observed among the ethnic groups. There was a higher incidence in females and patients of single status. The majority of patients did not suffer from severe psychiatric disorders, but did encounter chronic inter-personal and intra-familial conflicts. Conflicts with elders were more frequent among female patients, and this finding suggested that young females were faced with a greater degree of role conflicts. Rural to urban shift among the Chinese patients was observed to be associated with a high incidence of attempts. Dwellers of high-rise flat complexes were not over-represented. In view of antecedent social factors, professionals and others besides psychiatrists have a role in the prevention and management of para-suicidal behaviours.
Percentile head circumference charts, from six to eleven years of age, for boys and girls are presented. These can be used to monitor the head circumference of Malaysian children.
Helopeltis antonii is the major pest affecting cashew plants in Indonesia and causes potential damage to the plant. The development of the population was influenced by the fecundity and fertility of their eggs. The effect of mating on the eggs’ fecundity and the fertility of H. antonii was studied. Laboratory studies at Wonogiri Estate Service in Ngadirojo District, Wonogiri, Indonesia investigated the sexual maturity, the influence of female to male sex ratio on the females’ fecundity and longevity, and the influence of mating frequency to fecundity and the eggs hatchability of H. antonii. The study reveals that H. antonii females and males are ready to mate when they are two days old. The number of eggs laid and the longevity of the females’ lives were not significantly affected by the sex ratio; however, female to male sex ratios of 2:1 and 1:2 tended to produce a greater number of eggs. The fecundity of the female was not significantly influenced by the number of times the female mated. Unmated females laid fewer eggs than females paired with a mature male. The study shows that females need to mate to produce fertile eggs.
Objective: This case report highlights males as victims of sexual abuse, ascertain the factors that are associated with male sexual abuse and outline problems in management of sexual abuse with the presence of co morbidities. Methods: We report a case of sexual abuse in a 14 year old boy who has borderline mental retardation and ADHD. Results: The victim was
traumatized due to the abuse. The perpetrator was not charged due to lack of evidence of the abuse and stigma. Conclusion: Sexual abuse that occurs in males can be influenced by multiple factors such as the presence of comorbidities. Strong awareness must be present in caregivers to prevent abuse in this population and to take appropriate and early action to effect the necessary intervention.
The nuts consumption pattern of Malaysian adults were assessed by a set of food frequency questionnaire collected from June to December 2008 from 364 adults (129 men and 235 women) which were selected by stratified random sampling from five areas of Penang state. Average total nuts consumption of 0.77 g/day among Penang adults was found to be no gender-specific difference but was significantly different (P
Twenty three major government hospitals were involved in a study to detect cases of child abuse and neglect admitted to the hospitals in 1995. There were 680 cases admitted for the year consisting of 328 cases of physical and 263 sexual abuse and 89 cases of neglect or abandonment. In the majority of hospitals, there was a predominance of physical abuse cases being admitted whereas in a few hospitals there were more cases of sexual abuse. 48.2% of those physically abused were below 5 years of age and 21.7% were 10 years and above. However, amongst those sexually abused, 14.4% were below 5 years and 46.7% were 10 years old and above. Fourteen of the children died due to physical abuse. In 11 cases, the death was due to subdural haemorrhage.
Individual identification is an important and challenging task in forensic investigation. Lip print on drinking glass or cigarette butt found at crime scenes may link to a suspect. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in lip print between sexes or races, differences in lip measurement between sexes or races and determine a way to estimate sex and race by using lip print or lip measurements for main races in Malaysia. A total of 134 subjects (67 males and 67 females) of Malay, Chinese and India were recruited from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Campus Kuala Lumpur (UKMKKL), Malaysia. Lip prints were taken by using a lipstick and a transparent cellophane tape. Lip measurements were taken by using electronic digital callipers. Lip prints were classified according to Tsuchihashi classification. Statistical analysis indicated that there was a significant difference in lip print between sexes (p < 0.001) but not in races (p > 0.05). Width of oral opening and the height of lower lip both indicated significant differences between sexes (p < 0.001) while the height of upper lip and lower lip each indicated significant differences between races (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant interaction between sexes and races for all lip measurements. Formulae for sex and race determination were calculated with Classification Tree when there was significant difference between every comparison. Tables of accuracy percentage and performance evaluation for method in categorizing sex or race by using lip print or lip measurement were made. For validation of method in sex determination based on the formulae formed, accuracy in females is 90% and 65% in males. Therefore, overall percentage of accuracy in sex determination was 77.5%. This study can provide a preliminary idea about the use of lip prints in sex or race determination among Malaysian population.
In developing ergonomically sound furniture, there is a need in evaluating anthropometrics from various aspect such as gender differences. The objectives of this study was to evaluate anthropometrics differences between genders of children in Malaysia in order to determine the need in having specified chairs for each gender. Represented by four states in Malaysia, a total of 2400 children were involved in the study. A custom made measurer and an anthropometer were used to measure the subjects. Six body measurements, which are, sitting shoulder height, sitting subscapular height, shoulder breadth, buttock popliteal length, popliteal height and hip width were documented for evaluation. From this study, there were some significant differences on some body parts while other body parts were similar to male and female. Therefore, chairs are needed to be made according to the suitability of both gender.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading killer from a single infectious agent globally. In 2019, Malaysia's TB incidence rate was 92 per 100,000 population, and the TB mortality rate was estimated at 4 cases per 100,000 population per year. However, the state of Sabah had a higher burden of TB with a notification rate of 128 per 100,000 population and a TB case fatality rate of 8% compared to the national figure. This study aims to provide a comprehensive report on TB deaths epidemiology and its associated factors at a sub-national level. This nested case-control study used Sabah State Health Department TB surveillance data from the Malaysia national case-based TB registry (MyTB) between 2014 and 2018. Cases were defined as all-cause TB deaths that occurred before anti-TB treatment completion from the time of TB diagnosis. Controls were randomly selected from TB patients who completed anti-TB treatment. The TB mortality rate had increased significantly from 9.0/100,000 population in 2014 to 11.4/100,000 population in 2018. The majority of TB deaths occurred in the first two months of treatment. TB-related deaths were primarily due to advanced disease or disseminated TB, whereas non-TB-related deaths were primarily due to existing comorbidities. Many important independent risk factors for TB deaths were identified which are useful to address the increasing TB mortality rate.
Despite a large amount of research on depression and abuse, there is still a controversy on how abuse is measured and on childhood trauma's effect on the physiological function of adults. Here, we attempt to clarify the relationship between different types of abuse and depression while focusing on childhood abuse. This article, unlike prior research, provides an overview that addresses physical, psychological, and sexual abuse and their psychological impact on the victims. Results show that abuse is a vulnerability factor for a variety of mental and physical health problems and that psychological abuse is strongly associated with depression. More research is needed to understand (a) the role of abuse in the development and maintenance of depression and, in particular, longitudinal studies that also account for the large number of risk and protective factors that influence this relationship and (b) how different types of abuse can influence response to treatment among survivors with depression, in order to provide effective trauma-focused approaches to manage depressive symptoms.
When examining spontaneously recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, victims report that there had been periods in which they had forgotten the abuse. However, there are sometimes people with whom the victim had spoken about the abuse during the period in which the victim had supposedly forgotten the abuse, suggesting the victim had not forgotten the abuse but the prior recall of the abuse. The underestimation of previous knowledge is termed the forgot-it-all-along effect. The goal of the present study was replicating the results of a laboratory study that had provided a theoretical understanding for the forgot-it-all-along effect by showing that people have difficulties remembering "remembering" when the memory had previously been recalled in a different context. The effect was replicated by using the same neutral context sentences, suggesting the finding was robust. We also extended the experimental design by using positive and negative context sentences, but it did not become smaller when the positive sentences provided the different context or larger when the negative sentences provided the different context. Although the sample sizes were sufficiently large to provide statistical power for the forgot-it-all-along effect, they may not have been sufficiently large to observe the moderation effects of emotional context.